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The Family As Antagonist in RomComs
THE BIG SICK Movie Poster Ok, so we all know that in romantic comedies, the Antagonist is the lover-to-be, but to kick up the conflict, many RomComs use the Family as the Antagonist. That may be in addition to the alternate suitor–or the Bellamy as discussed in previous posts.
How the Family is the Antagonist in RomComs
How can the family be the antagonist or contribute to the conflict?
- The family is opposed to the relationship (for example, for religious reasons in THE BIG SICK)
- they hate the lover-to-be because of past history (THE BIG SICK)
- the family is so lovable that the protagonist falls in love with the family and doesn’t want to hurt them by revealing the truth or deceive them any further (see THE PROPOSAL or WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING)
- they like the lover-to-be and push the couple together–helpful if it’s enemies-to-lovers (see THE PROPOSAL or even NEVER HAVE I EVER when the mom invites Ben over for dinner)
- the family is so horrible that it creates sympathy for a character (see Ben in NEVER HAVE I EVER and prior post discussing this)
- the family is the backstory that propels the internal conflict
THE BIG SICK – the Family Antagonist
THE BIG SICK by Amazon Studios I highly recommend THE BIG SICK. SPOILERS below. Let’s see how it uses the family as one of the main antagonists. Kumail and Emily meet at a comedy club after his comedy act.
Kumail’s family is initially the antagonist because they don’t support his marrying anyone outside the Muslim faith. They keep setting him up with Muslim women in order to find him a suitable wife. And they make clear at the dinner table that marrying outside the faith will lead to ostracism.
But Kumail is falling for Emily. Conflict.
Emily finds out he hasn’t told his family about her and that he doesn’t see how he can marry her because he doesn’t want to lose his family. They break up.
The roommates call him to sit with her at the hospital because she is very sick. He has to authorize putting her in a coma to try to save her. So, now Emily is out of the picture. What can the film do?
Her family arrives at the hospital. And her family becomes the antagonist. The mom HATES him because he broke her daughter’s heart. (The father is not too keen on him either, but he feels bad for him.) And so for the middle of the movie, it’s the relationship between Kumail and her parents which is center stage.
And then when Emily wakes up, the conflict is back between her and Kumail.
THE PROPOSAL
The Proposal Movie Poster I just re-watched THE PROPOSAL and enjoyed it so much. It has so many great one-liners and set-pieces. I highly recommend it.
Here, the family heightens the stakes–the mom and the grandmother by pushing them together and the father by trying to separate them.
Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds visit his family in “Alaskaaa” (to imitate how Sandra Bullock says it when she hears that’s where he’s from).
The mom and the grandmother push to hear how Ryan Reynolds proposed to Sandra Bullock, push for them to kiss and then insist they get married . . . TOMORROW. They also adopt workaholic Sandra Bullock and take her along on various female field trips. They cause Sandra Bullock to have doubts about going through with the fake marriage.
ALWAYS BE MY MAYBE
ALWAYS BE MY MAYBE movie poster In ALWAYS BE MY MAYBE , another one of my favorite movies, Marcus uses his mom’s death and his father being alone as the reason why he has to stay in San Francisco and why he is mired in his current circumstances. And part of Sasha’s journey is to reconcile with her parents, who worked nonstop when she was a kid leaving her to eat dinners alone at home until she was invited over to his family’s house for dinner where his mom taught her how to cook. So, in ALWAYS BE MY MAYBE, the family history is the backstory that propels the internal conflicts of the characters.
Let’s Talk
How are you doing? Have you seen any of these movies? What are some of your favorite lines or moments? Are there other movies that you can think of where the family is the antagonist in the romcom?
Happy Holidays to All! And here’s to a much better 2021!
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Zoom Party Ideas
Our Christmas Tree My son just had his birthday party via zoom, so here are some zoom party ideas as we continue in quarantine. I’ve also had some adult zoom cocktail parties.
- play Mafia over zoom
- scavenger hunt
- Netflix watch party (no further explanation needed)
Mafia
Have you ever heard of the game Mafia? We used to play it late at night when we were staying over with a group of friends at a country house. Back when we did that.
Here are the instructions. I put the names of the guests on paper slips in one bowl and the various roles (mafia or murderer, villager, doctor, detective) in the other bowl. Then I matched every guest with a role and direct-messaged them via zoom. I was the narrator, but actually the boys all really wanted to be the narrator so they could create different scenarios of how people died. I thought the boys would probably prefer to play Among Us (which seems to be the online game equivalent), but not all the boys were allowed to play it, so I did it the zoom way. It worked. We added in other characters inspired by Among Us: the Angel (can tell the narrator one person to protect — if the murderer picks them to kill, they don’t die; the clown (pretends to be the murderer).
Scavenger Hunt
So this game was inspired by my son’s gym teacher. He has them do a scavenger hunt for household items, which makes the kids run around the house like mad.
I decided to add a riddle component. So I used some of these riddles for toothbrush and book (items they’d be sure to have around the house) and also came up with my own.
I am soft. This item is not a hat. I don’t go on your hand. I slip over your foot. What am I?
Answer: Sock
#
I roll, but I’m not a ball.
I’m paper, but you don’t write on me
What am I?
Answer: Toilet paper
#
You rest your head on me
Answer: Pillow
One child unfortunately couldn’t go into the bathroom because someone is his family was using it, which was tough, given that I gave riddles for toothbrush and toilet paper as items they’d be sure to have around the house. 🙁
Zoom Party Ideas Summary
Several parents emailed to thank me and say their children really enjoyed the party. I think the bar is low at the moment and I just occupied their children for two hours.
Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays whatever you celebrate! I hope you had a wonderful Hannukah and have a wonderful Christmas!
We are busy making Christmas cookies. My favorite Christmas cookie recipe is gingerbread people (reduced fat!) from the Joy of Cooking. I have yet to find a sugar cookie recipe I really love, so if you have one, please share!
The cookies are quickly disappearing. In other exciting news, my first MS Partner Pursuit was the winner of the Hudson County RWA 25-4-25 contest, and the first twenty pages of my second MS Is This for Real? just placed third in the RWA Windy City Four Seasons contest.
Let’s Talk
Do you have any good zoom party ideas? What are some of your favorite holiday traditions?
Happy Holidays!
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Romantic Comedy Book Recommendations For Gifts
Christmas Shopaholic in a Mini Bookstore Here are my romantic comedy book recommendations and some of my favorite children’s books if you are looking for gifts for the holidays.
Romantic Comedy Book Recommendations for Gifts
All of these books made me laugh out loud. There are many light-hearted, feel-good moments, but they also touch on serious issues. (This is in addition to my recommendations in my earlier post.)
- Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
- Big Sexy Love by Kirsty Greenwood
- Star-Crossed by Minnie Darke
- Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall
Some Favorite Children’s Books
- The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak
- Corduroy by Don Freeman
- Elephant and Piggy by Mo Willems (or anything by Mo Willems)
- Hippos Go Berserk by Sandra Boynton (or anything by Sandra Boynton)
- Is there a Dog in this Book? by Viviane Schwarz
There are frankly so many children’s books that I love, but I like to give the above as gifts. I’ve read both The Book with No Pictures and Is There a Dog in this Book? to my son’s class, and the kids laugh and love them. For older elementary kids, I recommend Dog Man and anything by Rick Riordan.
I love the dedication in Hippos Go Berserk: “I didn’t invite them. Did you invite them? (For Mom and Dad, with love.)”
Favorite Non-RomCom Book
My favorite non-romcom book was Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams. It does get very dark and I had to put it down a few times because I was like “noooo!” But it has a happy ending and I was strongly rooting for the character of Queenie. And the voice is very funny. (It is also quite explicit.)
It won the British Book Awards, among others.
What do you recommend?
Do you have any recommendations? What romantic comedies have you read in the past year and loved? Why? What children’s books do you give as gifts?
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Never Have I Ever RomCom Tips
I highly recommend Mindy Kaling’s Never Have I Ever and here are some takeaway romcom tips. If you haven’t watched it, watch it before you read below. It will make you laugh, cry, swoon and feel good at the end. Spoilers alert.
The Flawed Protagonist
One of the most brilliant things about Mindy Kaling’s Never Have I Ever is the character of Devi Vishwakumar, who is definitely flawed, but so appealing that you’re immediately rooting for her. She has a temper, which is why John McEnroe is her narrator (brilliant casting). She storms out on her friend Eleanor when she finds out Eleonor is dating someone and didn’t tell her, and then angrily throws a book out the window, breaking the window, admits that she’s jealous of her beautiful cousin Kamala. . . and this is all in the pilot episode. As she admits, she does not take the high road. She’s also refreshingly honest.
She’s also vulnerable and hurting because she idolized her father and he just died. And their scenes together always bring me near tears.
She’s also incredibly determined. Joining the hot boys lunch table takes guts.
And I love the whole Indian-American cultural aspect, especially the mom’s comments about America. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is an amazingly talented actress.
The Love Triangle
First Kiss Never Have I Ever has a well-done romantic triangle. There’s the hot, but sensitive jock (Paxton Yoshida) vs. the nerdy smart guy (Ben Gross). And normally I would be all for the nerdy smart guy, but he was so awful in the beginning that I couldn’t get over that, especially because of his UN comment and how mean he is when he’s doing the school project with her friends.
Paxton is also very sweet. And I like that he doesn’t drink at parties during swim season. I liked how he apologized and was there for her on multiple occasions.
- when he comes over to her house to apologize that he wrongly freaked out about her meeting his sister. (He is very protective of his sister.) And he gives that glance back after they part.
- when she gets bitten by the coyote and he rushes out to pick her up and take her to hospital. (And then her mom is so mean to him.)
- When he tells her “you do you.” Which is kind of like Colin Firth’s statement “I like you just the way you are” in Bridget Jones.
- and the kiss in the car (which he even tells his sister about).
So, I will admit that I am Team Paxton and not Team Ben.
I was so disappointed when it switched to Ben Gross’s POV so that we would develop sympathy for him. But it did work, so that definitely gives tips for how to make someone likable again:
- have his parents completely abandon him. As he says, he’s Kevin in Home Alone, except his parents decide to stay in Paris.
- have his self-centered girlfriend ditch him
- show him being lonely
- make him cry when someone is nice to him
- have them work together as a team
And Ben’s behavior improves, especially when he offers her a place to stay when she has a falling out with her mom. And that car drive! So, I definitely saw his appeal. And I was less impressed with Paxton when they did the homework assignment together and his slogan wasn’t very good. And of course, Paxton often ignored Devi.
BUT I am still Team Paxton. And I can’t wait for Season 2 when presumably the love triangle tension will continue.
Or maybe I am just Team Devi.
The Antagonist
In many ways, Devi is her own worst enemy, but she’s a brilliantly developed character. And her fraught relationship with her mother, masterfully revealed, propels the plot.
Another takeaway is to give your character hard choices so that you test your character. I thought it was a tough choice when she has to choose between doing a favor for Paxton by modeling clothes for Paxton’s sister and being there for Eleanor. The right thing to do was to be there for Eleanor, but that’s not what she wanted to do.
Let’s Talk
Have you seen Never Have I Ever? I also love all the subplots (the mom’s, Kamala’s, Fabiola’s and Eleanor’s). What are your favorite scenes? Are you Team Paxton or Ben? And what romcom tips did you take away?
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RomCom Tips from Sweet Home Alabama
Sweet Home Alabama Movie Poster Here are my RomCom tips from SWEET HOME ALABAMA. A friend recommended SWEET HOME ALABAMA; I think I didn’t see it because I was afraid it would idealize the South/Civil War, and it does in parts.
The Love Triangle
Patrick Dempsey is perfect as the Other Guy. Except maybe for his mother. BUT, he loves her and is over-the-top about it: honestly a room full of roses (“one for every time I thought of you”), the proposal at Tiffany’s (ok, actually, I thought that was weird to propose publicly in front of all these store employees, but the thought was good), supports her career, willing to stand up to his mother for her (or is that part of her appeal that she doesn’t appeal to his mother?). But as opposed to the Bellamy of previous posts, he’s the Other Guy with a twist because he could be a viable mate for Reese Witherspoon. As Billy Mernit advises,
“The most effective Bellamy is the one who poses a genuine threat to your central romance, meaning: for maximum triangle tension, design a Mr. or Ms. Wrong who we can believe can actually be a viable mate for your protagonist.”
Writing the Romantic Comedy by Billy Mernit at p. 134.And that adds to the tension. Is she really going to give up Mr. Perfect?
The Character Arc
The character arc of Melanie was also well-done. She’s run from her past and she has to come to terms with it. She has rejected Alabama and chosen New York, but as Jake says, why can’t she have both? And that’s her arc as she comes to realize that she doesn’t have to reject her past to succeed in her future. The scene at the bar where she insults everyone is also well-done because she is flawed and not very likable. And the next few scenes are her making up for those mistakes. And growing.
The Chemistry
The movie succeeds in large part because of the chemistry between Reese Witherspoon and Josh Lucas. Smoking. But the initial scenes also show their tempers and suggest why they have the history they do.
This is one of my favorite scenes–when they have their heart-to-heart talk. And kiss.
Sweet Home Alabama – the scene where they talk honestly She does not have the same chemistry with Andrew. And the fact that she hasn’t told him any of her past is a big red flag. (As it should have been for him.)
The Antagonists
Melanie is probably her own worst antagonist. The conflict between Melanie and Jake is the main driver of the plot. There are also the mothers: her own mother who wants her to stay in New York and marry Andrew, and Andrew’s mother who doesn’t want her son to marry Melanie.
Let’s Talk RomCom Tips
Have you seen SWEET HOME ALABAMA? What are your romcom tips from SWEET HOME ALABAMA? What’s your favorite scene? What did you like about the movie? And did you feel bad for Patrick Dempsey at the end (I did) even though I wanted her to go back to Jake?
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Define Your Comic Character
My mom’s cat Meow Meow — who does not want to be bothered to be a blog star Remember to define your comic character’s wants, needs and fears.
“Once you introduce the comic premise, you need to trust that the characters–their wants, needs and fears–will create more than enough action and plot to keep the narrative rolling along.”
The Comic Hero’s Journey by Steve Kaplan at p. 68.Define Your Character Clearly such that the Reader/Viewer Knows the Character’s Reaction
I attended a great family zoom presentation by Jonathan Aibel (Screenwriter, TROLLS, KUNG FU PANDA) and I asked him his advice for making a script funnier. He said (and I’m paraphrasing because my notes are messy) that usually it’s a matter of knowing your character and defining the character more clearly. And so, the comedy comes from knowing the character’s reaction.
It was a family event, so, afterwards, my daughter said to me, like Monica in FRIENDS being a “neat freak.” As soon as the room is messy, you know Monica wants to clean it and she’s having a hard time controlling herself and not cleaning it. My daughter gave the example of the Friends episode “Ross with the Dirty Girl.” Ross tells Monica about a date he had with a very messy woman, and Monica can’t help herself; she goes over to the woman’s house and offers to clean. In that episode, Ross’s date with the woman is the comic set piece (so funny) and Monica’s coming over afterwards to clean it is the topper.
Or if you think of Becky Bloomwood in Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series, what will Becky do if she’s passing by a 70% sale on scarves, even though she’s late to a meeting?
Create another Character who is the Opposite
As discussed in previous posts, use comic opposites to highlight the differences. If you’ve defined your character, create another character who is the complete opposite. This will immediately introduce conflict. Sophie Kinsella created Becky’s sister, Jess, in Shopaholic & Sister. Jess is the complete opposite with respect to shopping. Jess is thrifty and doesn’t believe in the value of material goods. Sophie Kinsella uses Jess brilliantly again in Christmas Shopaholic to question Christmas commercialism:
“As for presents, no, there is nothing I am ‘hankering after.’ Tom and I will be exchanging non-tangible gifts, in the spirit of creating a minimal footprint on our ravaged earth.
If you can’t shake off the pressure to buy pointless items simply to follow tradition, could I suggest that they are sustainable, non-consumerist, locally sourced presents that reflect the true principles of fellowship rather than the hollow presents of shopping?”
Looking forward to a festive day,
Jess.”
Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella at p.37In SHREK, the donkey is the comic sidekick who wants to befriend Shrek when Shrek thinks he doesn’t need friends. OR think Oscar and Felix in The Odd Couple (to go way back). In TROLLS, it’s dour Harry meets optimistic Sally again.
Let’s Talk
How are you doing? What is your favorite pairing of comic opposites? Do you have any summer beach read recommendations?
Hoping you are doing well.
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Comedy Writing Tip: What Can Go Wrong?
My comedy writing tip is ask the question: What can go wrong? Brainstorm all the possibilities.
Writing guru Jack M. Bickham says:
“He must leave in worse shape than he was when he went in.”
Scene & Structure by Jack M. Bickham at p. 27.And that’s perfect for creating comedy.
The Out-of-Towners Movie Poster What can go wrong?
I just watched THE OUT-OT-TOWNERS (1999), a movie with Goldie Hawn, Steve Martin and John Cleese. HIGHLY recommend. I laughed out loud at several points. John Cleese has some of the best lines.
Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin are flying to New York where the Steve’s character has a job interview. What can go wrong when you are traveling? [SPOILER ALERT]
- Your flight is diverted to another state and there are no other flights in time for your interview
- You miss the train to New York
- The car you rented is defective (or you just can’t figure out how to work it)
- You can’t read the map so you get lost
- A trickster mugs you when you arrive so you have no money
And, all of those things are true-to-life and actual possibilities, but pile them on top of each other, and see how your character reacts. And there you’ve got your comedic plot.
So, if you’re writing a dinner party scene, what can go wrong? Off the top of my head:
- you burn the dinner
- the food is inedible (Bridget Jones Diary, anyone?)
- a drunken guest insults another guest
- hidden history between guests comes out
- a guest is allergic to the food, causing you to have to create another dish on the fly
- the guests get food poisoning
- the napkins bleed, staining something valuable
- your pet throws up (retching noise in the background)
- the neighbors upstairs throw a party, creating a lot of noise, stomping around upstairs.
- fire alarm goes off, such that you all have to evacuate
Some of these are obviously worse than others, but you can see how brainstorming what can go wrong can help build your plot.
Comedy Writing Tip 2: A Flawed Protagonist Makes Bad Decisions
As Evan Smith writes in this brilliant post, “comedy loves bad decisions.” “In many comedies, the lead character is their own worst enemy.” Id. Having the protagonist cause their problems starts their character arc.
Let’s Talk
Can you think of any more bad things that can happen at a dinner party? Or any party? Do you have any comedy writing tips?
Hope you are all doing well and staying safe.
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Polishing Your Manuscript
I just recently had an epiphany regarding polishing your Manuscript: Polish your MS to add POP and personality (if you’re writing in the RomCom genre). Think fizzy!
If you’ve ever polished anything (and it’s not something I like to do), you know it takes some effort. Some elbow grease. But it shines when you’re done.
I recommend to every writer to take Linnea Sinclair’s online classes, but I recently took her Deep POV class, and I learned so much. And one thing I learned was how to polish your MS.
- Look at each sentence and see if you can make it better – can you tighten it? Can you add pop or personality? Voice?
- Make every sentence count;
- Add vivid description in the POV of your protagonist;
- Read your work out loud. (I resisted this advice for quite some time–because really it seems like it will take a week to read it out loud, but I finally did it and I found so much to fix.)
From sizzle.com memes Here’s an example. My original sentence:
“She’d almost quit during the eight months she’d worked with him.”
Partner Pursuit by Kathy StrobosHere’s Linnea’s suggested re-write:
“Eight months of working for him had made her seriously consider ending her law career.”
Partner Pursuit by Kathy StrobosLinnea’s revised version lets the voice of the character shine through. The desperation is stronger.
Here’s another example. I wrote one sentence as a rhetorical question:
“She didn’t remember reading that in his profile. And didn’t I write I was looking for someone outgoing?“
Partner Pursuit, Draft approx. 51?But it’s more assertive to write it as a statement:
“She didn’t remember reading that in his profile. And I wrote I was looking for someone outgoing.”
Partner Pursuit, Draft 52Write Like a Poet
Bessie Blue in her post on How to Polish Your Manuscript has tools to help you write like a poet.
Let’s Talk: Any Tips for Polishing your Manuscript?
What are your tips for polishing your manuscript?
I hope you are doing well. We are starting to open back up in NYC. Men were lined up outside the barber shops. 🙂 I took the subway for the first time since March to go to a doctor’s appointment. The subway gleamed! The floors were so shiny. Most everybody wears a mask. We still have the nightly clap at 7 p.m. for essential workers. I hope we can continue to keep our numbers down.
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Baby Got Backstory!
Baby Got Backstory! I’m working on the backstory of my next novel. And I recently read Mia Sosa’s The Worst Best Man and thought she did it brilliantly. As you know, one way to improve at writing craft is to read books in your genre and learn from other authors.
The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa Backstory fuels internal conflict.
“Story is about internal struggle, not an external one. It’s about what the protagonist has to learn, to overcome, to deal with internally in order to solve the problem that the external plot poses.”
Story Genius by Lisa CronRomance Backstory- Why is this absolutely the WRONG guy/gal for your protagonist?
For a romance backstory, why is this absolutely the wrong guy/gal for your protagonist? That will complicate the plot. That will force the protagonist to deal with his backstory in order to move on and fall for romance interest.
The Worst Best Man is a great example to read to see how to do backstory and conflict brilliantly. His brother dumped her on her wedding day, he’s the one who told her, and apparently he said something the night before that made his brother call off the wedding. Ouch. He’s the last person she wants to date.
And he’s in the same boat. He’s always competed with his brother. Here’s Max’s best friend’s advice:
“Disregard all of it and move on.”
…[numerous, numerous reasons].
“Four, you’re trying to escape your brother’s shadow. Pursuing his old girlfriend is exactly the opposite of that.”
The Worst Best Man at location 1486.I also LOVE the relationship between these two best friends.
Or take another example of backstory leading to conflict well done. In When Adam Met Evie, Evie hates liars and what is Adam doing?
When Adam Met Evie He’s lying to Evie. (He has good reasons). But author Giulia Skye sets up that conflict and tension so that you keep reading because you want to know: how is this going to get resolved?
The Backstory Tease
Think of Backstory as a tease. Hint at it initially, but don’t tell all. As Marcy Kennedy states in her post on 10 Writing Mistakes that Kill Your First Chapter,
“Backstory can be hinted at, but it’s normally something you should withhold until later when the reader really wants to know it and it’s pertinent to what’s happening in the present. Why? Backstory, by definition, is over. The reader wants to see your character getting themselves into trouble in the present.”
10 Writing Mistakes that Kill Your First Chapter by Marcy KennedyDonald Maass writes:
“Backstory delivered early on crashes down on a story’s momentum like a sumo wrestler falling on his opponent.”
Donald Maass.Mia Sosa also shows how to do backstory. As the story progresses, the reader learns why her heroine is emotionally reserved. Initially, we just learn her belief:
“We must never let our emotions get the better of us; doing so is either a sign of weakness, one that diminishes our well-earned respect, or a mark of combativeness, which will cause people to say we’re irrational. And as women–women of color, more specifically–we simply can’t afford to be perceived in those terms.”
The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa, at Location 468.But then there are specific backstory events that created this belief. I’ll let you read the book to see how she does it. Note that she teases with the belief initially and only gives you the full backstory later on. She doesn’t reveal the first backstory scene that cemented this belief until Chapter 15.
I recommend following the advice in Story Genius to take the time to develop those backstory scenes. Write the “Origin Scene” – the scene in which your protagonist’s misbelief originated– and three Turning Point scenes “where her misbelief was the deciding factor in a decision she made” and which confirms that misbelief as “right.” Story Genius by Lisa Cron at p. 114.
Also, show how the backstory affects her actions NOW.
Let’s Talk: Baby Got Backstory!
Have you read The Worst Best Man? Do you have any advice to share on backstory? Or on creating conflict between your romantic leads?
Also, my writing teacher Linnea Sinclair has another online writing class for $15 from July 6-30. It’s called “Hook ‘Em Dano: Writing the Grabber Opening Scene.” If you are a writer, I HIGHLY recommend taking her class. She is a fabulous teacher.
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Favorite Black Romance Authors
I want to recommend some of my favorite books by Black romance authors. They are SO GOOD. My earlier post has some of my other favorite books by Black American authors.
Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert I love the voice of Get a Life, Chloe Brown. Here’s an example:
“What would my eulogy say?
This mind-blowing bore had zero friends, hadn’t traveled in a decade despite plenty of opportunities, liked to code on weekends, and never did anything that was scheduled in her planner. Don’t cry for her; she’s in a better place now. Even Heaven can’t be that dull.”
Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert at location 85.I love Chloe Brown’s dry wit. Red and Chloe are so perfectly paired, filling in each other’s gaps. And he cooks. And I loved the whole family interaction. I can’t wait to read her next book about Dani.
The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa
The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa Highly recommend The Worst Best Man. Max is a sweetheart and Carolina is a kick-ass heroine (literally – I love that Capoeira scene.) It has one of my favorite tropes (the fake dating trope) and the premise promises problems: Carolina is a wedding planner who gets dumped at her wedding by Max’s brother, apparently because of something Max said. If only he could remember what.
Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson
Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson Oh, where to start? Jesse is such a sweet guy, so heartbroken over the loss of his mom and so in love with Kerry. He’s good with kids. He can cook. And yes, knit. And Kerry is funny, caring and strong, someone you’d want as your best friend. Set in Harlem, the book gives a feel for how NYC can also sometimes be a really small town with a lot of community and heart. Where community circles look out for each other.
I hope Kwana Jackson is going to write a series with how each of the Strong brothers find love. And Val too. She deserves it after Craig. (Her conversation with Kerry about that hook-up was hysterical.)
The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory
The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory Finally, I also highly recommend The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory. Carlos and Nikole were another great couple. I loved his relationship with his family and her relationship with her friends. I loved the scene where he takes her for tacos (although it made me very hungry) and the scene where they cook together is another winner! Yes, he cooks too. In my WIP, my character is looking for a guy who cooks and I see that I am not alone in this theme 🙂 And Jasmine Guillory’s next book Party of Two is coming out June 23.
Let’s Talk
Do you have any favorite books by black romance authors that you recommend? I will add them to the other books I am buying for #blackoutbestsellerlist #blackpublishingpower. Next on my #TBR is The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon, Intercepted by Alexa Martin and Conspiracy in the Capital by B. Ivy Woods. I’m excited!
I’ve also spent the past days signing petitions, writing letters, donating, reading and listening. And buying more books from Black authors from Black-owned bookstores (the Lit. Bar in the Bronx and Sisters Uptown Bookstore in Harlem). You can also buy books via Bookshop and pick an independent bookstore to support. Black lives matter. They more than matter, as comedian Daniel Che points out in this funny, but poignant and telling routine.